• Spending and Output Strings   

Sliding Spending and Output cards up and down on vertical strings helps students understand the Keynesian model, the multiplier effect, and fiscal policy tools.

• Supply and Demand Drill 

Teams of students solve supply and demand problems using overhead transparencies and present their solutions to their classmates.

• The Law of Unintended Consequences 

Policies sometimes have consequences that the lawmakers either ignored or didn't anticipate.  This exercise asks students to use economic principles to identify the unintended consequences of several policies.  

• Using Economics to Save Lives

Teams of students figure out how the government could (really!) save lots of lives each year without spending any more money.  The trick is to replace inefficient health and safety programs with more cost-effective ones.  This exercise is based on studies that have been published in scholarly journals.

• Joe wins the lottery   

This exercise demonstrates that ten payments of $100,000 over a ten year period does not equal $1,000,000.  A simple net present value equation is used.

• Turn your calculator into a time machine  

This activity teaches students how to do continuous compounding using the e^x button on their scientific calculators.  The problems at the end of the activity vividly demonstrate how small changes in a country's growth rate can drastically affect the standard of living of future generations.

• The problem with regulations  

Economists tend to frown on the use of regulations to control externalities. This exercise demonstrates that good regulations are difficult to design.

• What's wrong with this picture?

This is a series of doctored photos depicting scenes we'll likely never see in the real world.  Ask your students to explain why. The photos can be used to introduce new concepts or to review definitions.

 

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